Creating a "replica" of a 12th-13th century English Mead?

[Paul_F]

This might seem a little silly to some...

I'm waiting for my very first batch of Mead (a JAOM) to finish bubbling, and for the fruit to to start dropping, so I can actually TRY a Mead.

I'm also continueing my genealogy research... currently focusing on ancestors from Yorkshire England, in the 12th and 13th centuries...

So I started thinking - if I wanted to create a "not 100% accurate, but a reasonable facimile of, a mead that COULD conceivably been made in England some time around 1300".

Honey, obviously... Wildflower? Clover? I'm guessin' not Orange Blossom.

What Yeast would be a reasonable facimile of what was PROBABLY available in England in the 1300's? I know I can't get THAT close with this.. I also have no idea about yeasts... I'm still reading yeast charts at GotMead, but don't really have a good handle on what's what yet.

What herbal or fruit components would be "most likely to be used" and native to northern England? Apples, I'm guessing?

I am more than willing to "cheat" by adding modern yeast nutrients... once I learn a little more about 'em, of course (I DID mention I haven't finished my FIRST batch of mead yet...).


I am happy to endure ridicule, or posts of "Search the forum, idiot... we talk about this every week". (I did, actually, but perhaps my Search-Fu is too weak...)

 

[fatbloke]

This might seem a little silly to some...

I'm waiting for my very first batch of Mead (a JAOM) to finish bubbling, and for the fruit to to start dropping, so I can actually TRY a Mead.

I'm also continueing my genealogy research... currently focusing on ancestors from Yorkshire England, in the 12th and 13th centuries...

So I started thinking - if I wanted to create a "not 100% accurate, but a reasonable facimile of, a mead that COULD conceivably been made in England some time around 1300".

Honey, obviously... Wildflower? Clover? I'm guessin' not Orange Blossom.

What Yeast would be a reasonable facimile of what was PROBABLY available in England in the 1300's? I know I can't get THAT close with this.. I also have no idea about yeasts... I'm still reading yeast charts at GotMead, but don't really have a good handle on what's what yet.

What herbal or fruit components would be "most likely to be used" and native to northern England? Apples, I'm guessing?

I am more than willing to "cheat" by adding modern yeast nutrients... once I learn a little more about 'em, of course (I DID mention I haven't finished my FIRST batch of mead yet...).


I am happy to endure ridicule, or posts of "Search the forum, idiot... we talk about this every week". (I did, actually, but perhaps my Search-Fu is too weak...)

Well in truth, google will be your best friend for this as there are some recipes kicking around that are published as coming from earlier centuries.

Probably less from 12th/13th as the normans were still hammering the country with "their ways" then. The peasantry didn't record stuff like that and French was lingua franca of the court......

There's a number of recipes that infer to being Elisabethan, whether those might help I dont know.....

Herbs, with very limited spices would likely be most accurate and beer or bread yeast too......

You'd have to decide for yourself as to whether your eventual results might have an authentic taste or not.....

You might have better luck looking at any historical recipes of Scandanavian origin as the Saxons didn't record much at any level.......

Good luck on your mission.....

 

[Goofynewfie]

I agree about google probably having more information but please keep this thread updated I am really interested in the whole journey you are following from research to finished product

 

[GrizzlyGremlin]

Apples would be the fruit to use. Besides fermenting completely apple with honey ferments well. If you want to stay trie to tradition you must crush and press your own apples if available. This will give you an idea of how hard historical societies worked to be in possession of the nectar of the gods.

 

[WVMJ]

To go all the way, back then there were no extractors, you need real comb, with real propolis, pollen and some odd larvae and a few bee parts to get the real taste of an old mead. WVMJ

 

[Paul_F]

To go all the way, back then there were no extractors, you need real comb, with real propolis, pollen and some odd larvae and a few bee parts to get the real taste of an old mead. WVMJ

Like I said, I'm willing to make a FEW breaks with "the old ways" for modern convenience...

Fatbloke;
Many thanks! That at least gives me a start!

I'm trying hard not to start pouring money into this hobby until that first batch of JAOM is done, and I decide if I want to pursue it every once in a while, or go nuts (in a good way) and have 4-5 batches going at any given time....

 

[loveofrose]

Like I said, I'm willing to make a FEW breaks with "the old ways" for modern convenience...

Fatbloke;
Many thanks! That at least gives me a start!

I'm trying hard not to start pouring money into this hobby until that first batch of JAOM is done, and I decide if I want to pursue it every once in a while, or go nuts (in a good way) and have 4-5 batches going at any given time....

Try this link. You will need to figure out measurement conversions on your own. Alternatively, some of us at gotmead have calculated individual recipes.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16441/16441-h/16441-h.htm

Also try this link for up to date recipes:
http://home.roadrunner.com/~limited58/mead.htm

 

[WVMJ]

Dont base your continuation on just a JAOM, its good but there are so many more levels to reach for. WVMJ

 

[Paul_F]

Try this link. You will need to figure out measurement conversions on your own. Alternatively, some of us at gotmead have calculated individual recipes.
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16441/16441-h/16441-h.htm

Also try this link for up to date recipes:
http://home.roadrunner.com/~limited58/mead.htm

Wow! I'm thinking between those two, that may be all the research I need!
Gonna take a while to READ it all!

Many thanks for the leads!

 

[Paul_F]

Dont base your continuation on just a JAOM, its good but there are so many more levels to reach for. WVMJ

There's a gazillion (OK, "hundreds") of mead recipe's that sound interesting...
I'm just trying to find out if I even like the stuff AT ALL first. If the JAOM just "doesn't suck", I'll keep going.

 

[WVMJ]

What I am trying to get thru is that sometimes even a JAOM can suck, most people who dont like it seem to get a lot of bitter pith taste from the orange peel, so judging mead on that would be a shame. Hope it turns out great for you. WVMJ

 

[fatbloke]

What I am trying to get thru is that sometimes even a JAOM can suck, most people who dont like it seem to get a lot of bitter pith taste from the orange peel, so judging mead on that would be a shame. Hope it turns out great for you. WVMJ

Jacks spot on there. The pithy bitterness is usually a problem if it ferments dry - it ferments dry, most often when you "break JAO the warranty" and use wine yeast or something like that.

If you stick to the recipe as closely as possible, you usually comes out fine.

Of course, Jacks extra point is equally valid (as ever) i.e. don't judge all meads by only tasting JAO. It's designed to be an easy, straight forward method/technique, with ingredients all from a local grocery store, hence it's a little unusual when compared to conventional recipes/method......

 

[Paul_F]

Point(s) well taken...
Even if this batch of JAOM doesn't come out, I'll at least try a recipe with some modern sucess behind it before I start going all experimental.
But I'm taking notes and collecting ideas for once I've convinced myself this is a new permanent hobby rather than a passing fling...

And now the SECOND raisin has dropped in my JAOM...

 

[WVMJ]

We need to turn you from a raisin counter into a carboy counter, that is a lot more fun WVMJ